Many people take vitamin and mineral supplements, not because they have a poor diet, but as added insurance against a lack of certain nutrients. This is probably not needed at all but the attitude is better safe than sorry and a little extra won’t hurt. The fact is, extra will not likely do anything but cost you money. […]

Hamlin’s Wizard oil, launched in 1861, was a famous patent medicine of the late 1800s and early 1900s meant to be used as a liniment. According to the ad shown here, it was a remedy of rheumatism, neuralgia, toothache, headache, diphtheria, sore throat, lame back, sprains, bruises, corns, cramps, colic, diarrhea, and all pain and […]

Co-authored with Ben Borchardt A lot of noise is being made about edge grain chopping boards on kitchen oriented websites. The basic gist seems to be that an edge grain board is stronger and less likely to show knife scratches and other marks. Another claim is that such a board is less likely to warp. […]

I was making pie dough the other day and while preparing the dough a common term used in baking jumped out at me. I realized how confusing this term must be to novice cooks and especially to non-native English speakers. It’s actually a phrasal verb and is idiomatic: to cut in or ‘cutting in.’ This […]

There are a couple of things I don’t like in the kitchen. I don’t like overly heavy bowls that are hard to store and just awkward. I don’t like pouring things into colanders to drain. I don’t like getting out a cutting board when I only have to do a little snipping. With that in mind, […]

The FDA does not approve knives. The FDA does not approve the material knives are made from. The FDA does not approve “food grade” stainless steel or aluminum. If a kitchen knife or any other piece of kitchen equipment meant for food preparation or contact claims to be FDA approved or made from materials which […]